Obama Meets Gov. Cuomo’s Daughters Before Speech on College

President Obama greets Governor Andrew Cuomo and his daughters, who will soon be university freshmen, before he delivers a speech on college ratings in New York.

UPDATED | President Barack Obama was greeted Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y. for a speech about combating rising college costs by two freshmen headed to universities later this week: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s teenage twin daughters.

Stepping off of Air Force One in a blazer, khaki pants and no tie, Mr. Obama exchanged a handshake and a hug with Mr. Cuomo before meeting his three daughters: twins Cara Kennedy Cuomo and Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, both 18 years old, and Michaela Kennedy Cuomo, 15.

In a radio interview earlier this week, Mr. Cuomo remarked on the bittersweet act of sending his children off to school, saying, “just yesterday I was going off to college and now they’re going off to college.”

He added: “It’s one of those moment when you feel seriously old.”

While it is unclear what the president, Mr. Cuomo and the governor’s daughters discussed while on the tarmac, Mr. Obama did hand Michaela a personal note wishing her a happy birthday, an official said. She turns 16 on Aug. 26.

After another handshake and another hug with Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Obama boarded Ground Force One, his armored black bus, to head to the University of Buffalo, where he will deliver his remarks. Mr. Cuomo accompanied the president on the bus trip to the university, according to a spokeswoman for the governor.

Later Thursday, before he is scheduled to speak in Syracuse, Mr. Obama will meet privately with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, according to an aide in the attorney general’s office.